Gas-engine igniter.



W. G. PLANK.

GAS ENGINE IGNITER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.11, 1906. 598,?29 Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

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GAS ENGINE IGNITER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1906.

898,779. Patented Sept. 15,1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WILLIAM CHARLES PLANK, OF LAS FLORES, LOWER'CALIFORNIA, MEXICO.

GAS-ENGINE IGNITER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

Application filed September 11, 1906. sum mi. $84,095.

Io all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CHARLES BLANK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Las Flores, Lower California, Mexico, have invented a new and Im roved Gas-Engine Igniter, of which the fo owing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain im rovements in ignition devices for interna combustion en ines, and more particularly to that type 0 ignition device in which a small portion of the explosive charge is compressed in the ignition cylinder to such apressure that it spontaneously ignites and serves for igniting the main charge in the main engine cylinder.

The object of the invention is to rovide certain improvements in the means or con-' trolling the communication between the auxiliary cylinder and the main cylinder.

It, is .well known that an explosive mixture may be compressed to a point where the heat of compression is sufiicient to cause the spontaneous ignition of the mixture, but it is practically impossible to utilize this in the main cylinder of an explosion engine, as the time of explosion cannot be properly controlled to prevent back firing. By reason of this danger from premature explosions other means than compression are ordinarily used for igniting the charge.

In order to safely and positively ignite the mixture at the proper moment and by means of compression, I employ an auxiliary cylinder in which a small ortion of the explosive mixture is compressed to a much higher pressure than that to which the main charge is compressed, and the explosion which takes place within the auxihary cylinder automatically opens a port and permits the incandescent gases from the auxiliary cylinder to pass to the main cylinder and ignite the mam body of the explosive mixture therein. A smallpiston is referably actuated by a cam or eccentric w ose sition may be advanced or retarded at will making it ossible to advance or retard the ignition of t e main charge. As the explosion takes place within the auxiliary cylinder the pressure therein instantly rises, and a second iston within this auxiliar o linder is force back against the action 0 a eavy sprin to a int where an exhaust port is opene an the flame shoots out in the explosive mixture, makingthe ignition thereo positive and certain.- This ame is much superior for igniting purposes than the comparatively smaller cooler electric spark of an induction coil, which often fails to i 'te the mixture when it contains too smalfli percentage of the combustible gas, or the gas and air are imperfectly mixed.

At the instant of the explosion in the auxiliary or ignition c linder, the exhaust port closing piston is su denly forced back against the action of the spring, and assoon as the i ited gas escapes into the main cylinder, t 's piston is returned under the action of the spring and at a high rate of speed.

One object of my invention is to provide a construction by which both of these movements of the piston are cushioned and the pounding or jarring of the parts is entirely eliminated.

Other advantages of my improved igniter will be readily a parent from an inspection of the device, an amon these may be mentioned the simplicity 0? small number of parts employed, and the fact that practically no attention need be paid to the device, as it is almost impossible for it to et out of order or clo ged up.

eference is to be ha to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in WlllCh similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figurea, in which Figure 1 is a central lo 'tudinal section through a gas en ine provi ed with my improvedi ter; 1g. 2 is a detail of the auxllia cy nder showing the position occu ied by t e arts as the auxiliary cylinder is lled with t e explosive mixture; Fig. 3 shows the position of the parts as the mixture is being compressed in the auxiliary cylinder;

Fig. 4 shows the'position of the parts at the instant of the explosion in the auxiliary cylinder; and Fig. 5 shows the position of the parts a short time after said explosion.

It will be evident that myimproved igniting device may be employed either with twocycle or four-cycle engines, as the principle would be the same in either'case, but in the accom anying drawings I have illustrated it as app ied to a four-cycle engine of a common type, having a main cylinder 1, main piston 2, inlet port 3, exhaust port 4, and a-water jacket 5, the construction of all of which will be readily apparent to one familiar with the art.

Mounted in the side Wall of the main cylinder, adjacent the outer end thereof, is a small the structure, the

auxiliary cylinder 6, having an inlet port 7 and an exhaust port 8, both of which communicate with the compression space in the main cylinder. In order that the passages leading to the inlet port 7 and exhaust port 8 may be as short as possible to prevent the radiation of heat, I preferably construct the working cylinder of an enlarged diameter adjacent the outer end, thus forming an annular recess into which these passages lead and into which if desired, the exhaust valve'may open. Within this small auxiliary cylinder 6 are placed two istons 9 and 1 0, one of which 1s normally lield in a position to close the exhaust-port 8 by the action of a heavy 0011 Spring, while the other piston is reci rocate by suitable mechanism 'connecte to the maincrank shaft of the engine and by which it intermittently opens the inlet port to the auxiliary cylinder, and after said cyl- 1nder is filled, compresses the small charge thereln toward the opposite spring-pressed cylinder. 1

The exhaust port closing piston 9 is -1nounted on a piston rod 11, extending through a suitable bearing block 12 secure to the upper end of the main frame of the englne, and the space above the pistonv 9, into Wl1l0l'1 it is forced at the time of the explosion 1n the auxiliary cylinder, communicates with the outside atmosphere through a small port 13 which prevents the compression of air back of the piston, which would interfere vvith the free upward movement of said piston.

Within a recess in the block 12 is a heavy 0011 spring 14, mounted on the piston rod 11 and bearing against a hollow screw block 15 1n the end of the bearing block 12 and against a collar 16 rigidly secured to the piston rod 11. The lower end of the recess in the block 12 1s so arranged as to exactly fit the collar 16 and cooperate with the latter to form a cushlon to prevent the too sudden return of the piston 9 after the explosion in the auxil iary cylinder. I

The piston 10 is secured to a iston rod 17, extending through the wall of t e engine cas- 1ng and terminating in a roller 18 bearin on a cam 19 mounted on a short auxiliary s aft 20. The piston rod 17 carries a heavy coil spring 21 bearing against the frame and agamst a collar 22 on the iston rod, the sprmg being adapted to hol d the roller 18 1n contact with the cam 19 at all times. The cam 19 is rigidly secured to its shaft 20, WhlCll latter 1s rotated by a gear wheel 23 mounted thereon and of twice the diameter of a cam wheel 24 with which it meshes, and which latter is mounted on the crank shaft of the engine. Thus the cam 19 is rotated only one revolution for every two revolutions of the crank shaft, and the main piston 2 goes throucgh its four cycles while theauxihary cylm or is going through but two. In other words, the main engine illustrated is a fourcycle-one but the igniting device is only two 7 cycle. In the operation of my improved igniter the exhaust port closin piston 9 is normally held in the position s own in Figs. 2, 3 and 5,

the main cylinder becomes filled with the explosive mixture and the main piston starts on the compression stroke, compressing to a certain extent the gas in the auxiliary chamber, the piston 10 is forced upward by the cam to close the inlet port 7, as indicated in Fig. 3, and as the cam is so shaped that the piston 10 rises more rapidly than does the piston 2, the gas within the auxiliary oylin der is compressed to a much higher pressure than is the main charge in the main cylinder. After the main piston 2 has passed the dead center and is about to return, the piston 10 reaches nearly the limit of its upward stroke,

and at this time the charge within the auxiliary cylinder has become compressed to a pressure and heated to a temperature at which it spontaneously explodes, and as the piston 10 cannot be forced outward the pressure generated causes the upward movement of the piston 9 against the action of the heavy coil spring 14, to a point at which the exhaust port 8 has opened, and the incandescent gases from the auxiliary cylinder rush outward through the exhaust port 8, as indicated in Fig. 4, and ignite the main charge and cause the ex ansion thereof and the forcing outward of t e power piston 2. Most of the exhaust gases of the auxiliary cylinder rush outward through the exhaust ort 8, and this is facilitated by a slightly urther upward movement of the piston 10.' As

soon as the pressure in the auxiliary cylinder 6 has become reduced by the escape of the gases after the explosion, the piston 9 returns under the action of the spring 14 to the position shown in Fig. 5, the instantaneous return being prevented by the cushion formed beneath the collar 16 on the piston rod of the piston 9. The pistons 9 and 10 remain in the relative positions shown in 5 during the remainder of the expansion stroke of the main piston and during the scavenging stroke, the iston 10 not bein withdrawnjzo open the in et port 7 until'durmg the suction.

stroke or during the end thereof, when the piston 10 is withdrawn to open the inlet port, and a fresh supply of fuel rushes-in, and may, if desired, be somewhat compressed therein upon the compression stroke of the main piston before the piston 10 can rise to compress the small charge to the ignition point and cause a repetition of the operation above described. The time of the explosion within the auxiliary c'ivlinder may be timed by changing the relative position of the cam 19 in res ect to the crank shaft, such adjust ment eing produced in any suitable manner. In the engine shown, I provide the auxiliary shaft 20 with threads of considerable depth fitting threads in the gear wheel 23, and provide means whereby the osition of the gear wheel on the shaft may e longitudinally adjusted, said means comprising a collar 25, engaging with forks on the end of a pivoted lever 26 mounted in the main frame of the engine and having a serewthreaded controller 27, passing through the o posite end. Byrotating the controller 27 t 1e gear wheel '23 may be shiftedlongitudinally of the shaft 20, and the com ression stroke of the iston 10 retarded or a vanced in respect to t 1e compression stroke in the main cylinder, so that the igniting explosion may take place at any time desired. The pressure to which the small charge is compressed may be varied at will by adjusting the tension of the spring 14, such adjustment being easily accom ished by the rotation of the screw bloc 15.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An internal combustion engine, comprising a main cylinder, an auxiliary cylinder communicating with the main cylinder by inlet and exhaust ports entering the main evlinder ad'acent the outer end thereof, a piston within the auxiliary cylinder, serving to close the inlet port of said auxiliary cylinder, 8. second piston within said auxiliary cylinder and normally closing the exhaust port thereof, a piston rod carried by said seeon'd piston,-means for supporting and guiding said piston rod, said means having acylindrical recess, a collar carried by said piston rod and adapted to cooperate with said recess to form a cushion upon the inward movement of the last-mentioned piston, and a spring in engagement with said collar and normally forcing the piston into its exhaust ort closing position, the auxiliary cylinder eing rovided with an air exhaust port interme iate its ends and-communioating with the outside atmosphere, whereby themovement of the exhaust port closing piston is cushioned when the latter approaches either of its two limitin positions.

2. An igniter or internal combustion engines, comprising an ignition cylinder having an exhaust port delivering to the engine cylinder, a piston within said i nition cylinder,

means for reciprocating said piston to compress the charge in the ignition cylinder to the point of ignition, a second piston within said ignition cylinder and normally closing the exhaust port thereof, a piston rod carried by said second iston, a collar carried by said piston rod, &I1(i 8. S )ring in engagement with said collar, the wall of the auxiliary cylinder being )rovided with a passage communicating Witi the atmosphere, whereby the air may escape to permit outward movement of the second piston, and said wall being also provided with a recess adapted to receive the collar and cushion the inward movement of the piston.

In testimony whereof I have. signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM CHARLES PLANK.

Witnesses:

Jxo. M. BITTER, CLAIR W. FAIRBANK. 

